Patna,(BiharTimes): The verbal duel among political parties of Bihar
has shifted to Delhi as senior leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party,
Congress and Janata Dal (United) from the state have started
campaigning for their respective parties.
On Saturday Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar addressed election
meetings in Okhla, Sangam Vihar and Dwarka. His party Janata Dal
(United) has put up candidates in 26 out of 70 Assembly constituencies. His cabinet colleague Renu Kushwaha, Shyam Rajak,
Nitish Mishra, Parveen Amanullah are already camping in Delhi.
Though the Congress, which is in power, and BJP, have much at stake
the JD(U) has thrown its hat in the ring just to test the political
waters of Delhi, where there is a sizeable voters of Bihari origin.
The party has given ticket to about a dozen candidates of Bihari
origin while the BJP has fielded five such nominees. The former deputy
chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi is already busy campaigning for his
party in Delhi.
But reports from Delhi said that the political situation there is
totally different with BJP fighting a very tough battle with the
Congress as well as Aam Admi Party. As JD(U) hardly matters there the
BJP is not extending the battle of Bihar to the national capital. In
fact the BJP does not want to antagonize JD(U) there as the Aam Admi
Party is already cutting its votebank.
AAP is giving sleepless night to the ruling Congress party as well,
even as the latter is trying its level best to make it four in a row.
But in a desperate bid to woo voters the BJP has also promised
setting up of a migrant commission, hostels for students from Bihar
etc.
According to Sushil Modi senior Bihar leaders from the state, along
with more than 40 MLAs, have been camping in Delhi for about ten days
now.
State BJP chief Mangal Pandey said about 1,000 party workers and seven
to eight former ministers have been camping in New Delhi for the last
ten days.
On the other hand Congress leaders from Bihar are also camping in
Delhi to muster support for chief minister Sheila Dikshit with the
message that Bihar got maximum funding during the Congress-led UPA
rule since 2004.
Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee Ashok Choudhary said during the UPA-1
and UPA-II regimes, Bihar got central funding of Rs1,34,000 crore,
against only Rs 7,400 crore during the Vajpayee regime between 1998
and 2004.
An interesting by-product of the Delhi election is that the people in
Bihar are now not forced to listen to the daily dose of abuse and
counter-abuse between BJP and JD(U) leaders.
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